世界節(jié)假日博覽 第148期:國際掃盲日

September 8 is a very important day all around the world. It is International Literacy Day and it highlights the importance of reading. It was started in 1965 by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Its aim is to focus on how important reading, writing and numeracy are to inpiduals, as well as to societies and nations. On this day, UNESCO reminds the world of the status of literacy and provides statistics for literacy rates for each country. Literacy is a key sign of how developed a society is. The concept has developed a lot over the past few decades. It now includes the ability to be able to use computers and other kinds of information technology.

9月8日是全世界的一個重要節(jié)日——國際掃盲日，它彰顯了閱讀的重要性。國際掃盲日是聯(lián)合國教科文組織1965年設(shè)立的，旨在關(guān)注閱讀、寫作和計算能力對個人、社會和國家的重要性。在這一天，聯(lián)合國教科文組織提醒人們讀寫能力的重要性，為每個國家提供識字率數(shù)據(jù)。讀寫能力是社會發(fā)展程度的關(guān)鍵標(biāo)志。掃盲日的概念在過去的幾十年擴(kuò)展了很多。它現(xiàn)在包括計算機(jī)和其他信息技術(shù)的使用能力。


Around 780 million adults in the world today lack basic literacy skills. One in five adults is illiterate, and two-thirds of these are women. UNESCO says the highest rates of illiteracy are in south and west Asia, followed by sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab nations. The agency says there is a clear relation between illiteracy and severe poverty. UNESCO also says there is more discrimination against women in countries with low literacy rates. Literacy affects many aspects of a society. In 2007 and 2008, the theme for International Literacy Day was “Literacy and Health“. People who are able to read health warnings are less likely to catch killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Reading can save lives.

如今世界上大約有7.8億人缺乏基本的讀寫能力。五分之一的成人是文盲，其中三分之二是女性。聯(lián)合國教科文組織稱文盲比例最高的地區(qū)是南亞和西亞，其次是非洲撒哈拉沙漠地區(qū)和阿拉伯國家。該機(jī)構(gòu)稱文盲和極度貧窮有明顯的關(guān)系，它也稱文盲率高的國家更歧視女人。讀寫能力影響著一個社會的很多方面。2007年和2008年，國際掃盲日的主題是“讀寫能力與健康”。有能力閱讀健康警告的人更少染上如艾滋病、肺結(jié)核和瘧疾之類的致命疾病。閱讀可以挽救生命。